Let me gush for a minute, even splash around in sloppy sentimentality. I've had two and a half cups of coffee this morning (I got up at 3:45 a.m.), and what I felt as crushing melancholy has magically been transformed through the wonders of caffeine into a "life-is-good-and-maybe-I'm-not-as-appallingly-rotten-as-I-usually-think-I-am" kind of high. So to the exploited peasant coffee picker trudging up the Colombian mountains with a burlap sack hanging over his shoulder, I say "thank you. Your misery is not all in vain."
What does this have to do with Chicago? First, I wasn't in the mood for a b&w photo this morning, so I thought a little dash of (caffeine-inspired) color would hit the spot. Second, I'm not just thankful for Senor Valdez, but I'm also thankful for those architects (and the patrons who purchase their services) who pursue not only utility but also beauty and, even more rarely, daring in the face of convention. Utility is useful, true, even utilitarian. But isn't the best stuff useless? Knowledge for its own sake. Literature. Art for the sake of art. Even love in a fashion.(And, yes, I know what you're thinking: Blogs. Of course. That goes without saying.)
Assume for the moment that the world isn't devoid of purpose or design. From one theological standpoint, ain't the all of it--even just the insanely rich diversity of life on planet earth--a fabulous adventure of uselessness? If god exists and has the attributes we attach to him (or correctly discern in him), then he doesn't need us. Our omnipotent and loving Grand Maestro is pretty much self-sufficient. So apart from the sheer delight in creation for the sake of creation--more precisely, for the sake of the artist--what can this whole creation thing be about? I hope nothing. Because if creation is here because creation is fun, then that means that at the very heart of the world is a flow of playfulness--an overflow of being and inventiveness and, mysteriously enough, love.
I love caffeine.
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5 comments:
I love caffeine.
Amen, brother.
(And, I should note, there is a lovely cup of coffee right in front me now as I type).
oh, i'm sorry. i must have the wrong number. i was trying to reach photos and musings?. whaaaa? look at the color! look at the survey! the rounded edges! the feeds! the tags! oh toto, i don't think we're in kansas anymore! looooove it! just one questions... can you put this on your resume?
yes, coffee, mmmmmmmmm. absolutely falls into the utilitarian, non-frivolous category as far as i'm concerned. i have my youngest trained to go out and get the paper (and for a 6 year old, his driving skills are really coming along). now we're working on his coffee making skills. soon i'll be able to jump up on the kitchen counter and in a triumphant, Phelps-type stance, scream, "i've done it! i have created the ultimate child."
he asked me today what you do to the coffeemaker to make it make decaf. i looked at him silently for a moment, then asked him where he heard such an ugly word. i told him that as he grew up, the world would show him its dark side but there was no reason to bring that into our peaceful, peace and caffeine lovin' house.
and please, don't forget music when you talk about useless must-haves.
jc--
i hired a blog consultant, and this is the look she presented. faaabulous! no, it was fun playing with the different options. too much fun. obviously so.
when your child is coffee-trained, give me a tape of your training methods. i'm sure step one will be: "punish severely for mentioning decaf."
and music. of course. what was i thinking? right at the top it belongs.
thanks for the nice reply, jc.
Since I think we are made in the image of God, that is where our need to creatively express ourselves comes from. For some it is in knitting projects and for some, pictures of eyeballs.
Some of the creatures must have been created just for the joy of it. I mean, why make thousands of beetles when surely a hundred types of beetles would be enough to do whatever beetles do in the food chain? And why make strange animals that most people have never seen like those tiny frogs in the Amazon that only recently were found if not for the joy of creating.
I find this very agreeable.
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